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- Topic: Spanish >
- "Ellos hablan francés."
31 Comments
1400
Talking and speaking can be used interchangeably in some instances: They are talking = They are speaking. However talking is not usually used when referring to languages like this... only speaking. In English one speaks a language... one doesn't talk a language.
2353
Instead of "They are speaking French," one of the correct answers is listed as "The are speaking French" in the database.
343
They are speaking French is marked wrong. The corrected answer is "They speak French." Should my answer have been correct? is there some nuance I'm missing here?
Yes, you are correct. "Ellos hablan francés" can be translated as They speak French or They are speaking French. For me, the choice depends on the context and what I am trying to emphasize. If someone asked me ¿Que lengua habla Julia? and you are not in the room, I would consider that to be "What language does Julia speak." If you are on the other side of the room and speaking with someone, I would consider that to be "What language is Julia speaking." Because there was no context here, I answered: "They speak French." With Duo, I always use the simplest answer unless it does not seem to fit..
261
I'm fed up with indistinct audios. Unless Duo fixes it soon I'm giving up, it just adds to all the other frustrations.